Lost at Sea
by bionic4ever
Summary: Oscar has sent Jaime and Steve on a much needed vacation, but fate has other plans....
1. Chapter 1

**Lost At Sea**

Chapter One

Oscar raised his champagne glass high. "To another successful mission, courtesy of the best team in the business."

Steve snaked an arm gently around Jaime's waist as the two of them clinked their glasses to Oscar's. "So, when does this 'best team in the business' get the time off you promised us two or three assignments ago?"

Oscar smiled. "Didn't you just have a vacation?"

"I haven't had two consecutive days off since I got out of the hospital," Jaime insisted, "and that was almost two months ago."

"I seem to remember a young lady who kept insisting, 'I'm bored, Oscar; I need to work,' before she'd even been released from the hospital, and -"

"Well, yeah - I was flat on my back in bed for...forever!"

"Did I not grant your wish, to get up, out and working again?" Oscar said, teasing her.

"Well, yeah, but -" she nudged Steve in his ribs. "Help me out here, would ya?"

"I think she's trying to say that, ever since she's gotten her full memory back, we've had no time to just be together, to explore what that might mean."

"How long do you think this exploration might take?"

Jaime and Steve glanced at each other. "At least a week," Steve finally ventured.

Oscar frowned. "Oh, I don't think that even approaches adequate." Unable to suppress the widest of grins for another second, he tossed Steve a small set of keys. "She's in the marina, all stocked up and ready to go. And I don't want to see either of your faces in this office again until the first of July."

"That's...two and a half weeks," Jaime said happily.

"Is that a problem?" Oscar asked with great mock stern-ness.

"No, not at all," the two operatives assured their boss.

"Good. Oh, I should tell you nothing is being implied, assumed or even suggested here; the boat has two separate sleeping quarters."

"Damn," Steve, murmured under his breath, earning himself another elbow in the ribs.

Oscar beamed at both of them. "Have a great vacation; you've both more than earned it."

------

"Steve, it's perfect!" Jaime called as she danced down the pier toward the waiting houseboat. Steve grinned, charmed by her exuberance. "Where are we going?" she asked as he gently lifted her into his arms and kissed her.

Steve carried her onto the boat's main deck before setting her back on her feet and drawing her close for a deeper, more languid kiss. "How does our own private island sound?"

"We have an island?"

"We do, for two weeks," Steve answered. "No cars, no traffic, no tourists, not even a television. And..._no missions_. Just us."

Jaime sighed happily. "Sounds like heaven."

"Sure you won't be bored out of your mind, with just me for company?"

"If you're there, I'll have everything I need. And I really don't think we'll be bored."

------

A few hours later, Jaime - still dancing with excitement and happiness - popped from the galley on the lower deck up to where Steve was manning the instruments. She stood quietly behind him, admiring the view: his confidence at the helm, the firm rippling of his muscles...and the water and sky weren't too bad, either. Steve sensed her watching him, and he flipped a switch, turned around and smiled.

"Galley Wench reporting that dinner is ready, Sir!" she said with a salute. He extended one arm, and she melted into it. She gazed out at the ocean, which now surrounded them on all sides. "Where _are_ we?"

"We are officially in the middle of nowhere."

"Well, we certainly made good time in getting here. Hungry?"

"Definitely," Steve answered, pulling her very close. "Later on, I might even want some food."

------

After dinner, they lingered over the last of a bottle of wine, not needing to speak, simply enjoying being together. Finally, reluctantly, Steve broke the silence. "Even anchored down for tonight, we should be there by lunchtime tomorrow."

"I'm in no hurry," Jaime told him softly. "This is nice, too." The boat tipped suddenly to one side, tossing her gently onto Steve's lap. It immediately righted itself, but she stayed where she was. Steve frowned slightly, and she ran a finger across his lips. "Well, if it makes you that unhappy, I _could_ move back where I was..."

"No, you're just fine where you are. The water's perfectly calm, though; I don't know why we'd rock like that."

"Worked out pretty well, though, don't you think?" Jaime said, her eyes sparkling as she looked into his.

"I'm not complaining," he confirmed, seizing the opportunity for another kiss. At the exact instant their lips came together the boat lurched again, violently this time. "Ok, now, we're _good_ together," he puzzled, "but the whole ship just jumped." Steve started to stand, to head up onto the deck to investigate, when the boat lurched once more, and the world exploded around them.

------


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Steve never lost consciousness, but when he landed in the water, he thought, for a few seconds, that he had. There was nothing but darkness all around him, and he struggled to open his eyes, gradually realizing that they were, in fact, already open. _Find the radio_, he thought to himself, _gotta send a distress call!_ Feeling around in his ominously dark new world, he found nothing but a few very small pieces of debris. His voice - and his heart - called out for Jaime, but he heard nothing but silence. _At least she's a strong swimmer; that means she'll have a chance._ He had no way of knowing she was floating, unconscious, in the main debris field, less than a quarter-mile away.

Determined to summon help, Steve dove under the water, feeling blindly for anything - the radio, flares, the boat itself - that might help save them. He came up empty-handed, and dove again, over and over, until he was forced to lie back in the water and float, searching in vain for strength, for hope, and...for Jaime.

------

A bobbing piece of what used to be a boat struck Jaime's face, and she opened her eyes. At first, her mind couldn't absorb or process what she was seeing. Water surrounded her on all sides, but...where was the boat? All she saw was debris, wooden planks, clothes, and then...an empty wine bottle. **_Steve_**! Where was he, and what the hell had just happened?

She called out to him, softly at first, then with increasing desperation, hearing only the echo of her own voice in return. Her body was tangled around and through something wooden that she thought might be a deck chair, but although she could brace with her arms, she was unable to pull herself free. Her initial shock and disbelief turned to horror and panic; Jaime couldn't move her legs.

------

Back in Washington, Russ was preparing to leave OSI Headquarters and head home for the night. He was turning the key in the second lock of the radio room door when the scream of an alarm, loud and insistent, called him back to his post. He took one look at the printout and hit the intercom button for Oscar's office.

"Yes?"

"Oscar? You need to come down here, right away."

Oscar found his assistant with the readout still in his hand, waiting for something - anything - else to come over the wire. Russ handed him the paper without looking up. "It's Steve and Jaime - they're in trouble," he said grimly. "That's the fail-safe alarm from their boat. It's programmed to sound only in cases of collision, or..."

Oscar's eyes widened as he swore softly to himself. "Did you try calling their radio?"

"No response. Nothing."

"Did they send a distress call?"

"Nope. We've got a fleet of boats on their way to follow the trip map Steve filed. If they stayed on course, maybe we'll find them that way. I've also sent for Rudy Wells," Russ added. "Hopefully, if all else fails, he can track their whereabouts from their emergency chips. If not..."

------

Jaime was growing more desperate by the second. Although she could move her arms, she was tangled in a way that made propelling herself by paddling next to impossible. Tears were now stinging her eyes even more than the salt water, and as she began to lose strength, she gave one more plaintive cry before surrendering to the ocean: _"STEVE!"_ When the debris that was holding her flipped, turning her face toward the water, Jaime had no energy left to turn herself face up.

Steve came up from under the water - still having found nothing useful - just in time to hear Jaime's last cry. He instantly began swimming in her direction, calling her name and hearing no answer. He forced himself to remain at least somewhat calm, searching methodically with his hands and feet as he paddled rapidly through the water. He felt hair, splayed out upon the surface of the water, and knew he'd found her, but his relief turned to horror as he moved to embrace her and found that the love of his life was drifting face down.

------


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Operating solely by touch, Steve flipped Jaime over, and his heart began beating again when he heard her sputtering cough. She was alive! He could feel that she was badly entangled in something, but instinct told him it was keeping her afloat, and he didn't attempt to free her. His undamaged legs kept up a steady treading of the water beneath him as he cradled her upper body in his arms.

"Jaime?" He could feel her body trembling as she coughed to rid herself of the water she'd just begun to inhale and drew a few shaky, tentative breaths. "Sweetheart? Can you hear me?"

"You...you're alive.." she gasped in a weak, breathy voice. "I - I couldn't find you, and...I thought..." her voice trailed off.

"Jaime, are you hurt?" Steve longed to be able to look into her eyes, to be able to **see** her, so he could truly help her, but his soul was filled with gratitude that at least he was once again holding her in his arms.

"Nothing hurts," she told him, slowly realizing he was staring blankly into the distance and didn't appear to see her. "But something's wrong. Steve...I can't move my legs."

------

The OSI radio room was busier in the middle of that long, fear-filled night, than it was during most of its normal daylight hours. Oscar had one man working solely on trying to contact the boat's ship-to-shore radio and half a dozen others in constant communication with Search-and-Rescue. Rudy Wells was hunched over a data bank that he was beginning to believe had malfunctioned.

"Oscar," he said in a dark voice, "I've tuned into the frequency of Jaime's emergency chip, and I'm getting nothing."

"Nothing?"

"It might mean that the chip itself has malfunctioned, or her bionics are inoperable or not receiving adequate power, or..." the doctor's eyes misted slightly as he pondered the outcome he was unwilling to voice. Oscar patted him on the shoulder, sharing his overwhelming flood of emotions. "I'll keep trying," Rudy said with renewed determination.

"Oscar!" Russ called from across the room. "You're gonna want to take this!"

Goldman took the radio receiver from his assistant's hand. "This is Oscar Goldman."

"Mr. Goldman, this is Captain Ron Adamson, US Coast Guard. We're picking up transmissions from your Search-and-Rescue teams, and I believe I've got information regarding your missing ship."

"Go on," Oscar requested urgently, signaling for Russ to open the lines so the rescue teams would hear the transmission as well.

"Approximately 30 minutes ago, one of my vessels spotted a small boat that appeared to be firing on a second boat. The attacking vessel was intercepted and its occupants detained."

"And the other boat?" Oscar asked anxiously. "What about the second boat?"

"Sir, it appears there was an explosion."

------

Jaime and Steve were doing what they'd had a lifetime to practice: working as a team. Jaime was serving as their eyes, and Steve was providing strength and ability. Jaime spotted a coil of rope verbally guided him to it, and Steve grabbed it. He then worked very gently to untangle Jaime's legs from what turned out to be a small piece of the hull with a wooden rail attached. Its hollow curvature prevented it from sinking, and Steve used the rope to carefully lash Jaime to the side that curved upward, keeping her above the water line. In the last remaining light of the setting sun, she'd also seen several life vests and Steve grabbed at two of them, strapping one onto Jaime, whose right arm had now lost strength as well, and putting the other one on himself.

Jaime watched quietly, making sure he'd fastened the buckles on his vest securely. When she was satisfied that he was safe, for the moment, anyhow, she fished around with her left hand, found the longer end of the rope and wrapped it around Steve's chest.

Steve shook his head. "If something happens, I've gotta be able to react fast; I can't be tied -"

"And if I pass out, or even fall asleep, and we drift apart..." Jaime firmly pressed her hand over his as he tried to remove the rope. "Please?"

Steve couldn't see the tears in her eyes, but he heard them in her voice. He gave her hand a tender, reassuring squeeze before threading the rope through his life vest. He felt Jaime's body shiver, and even though he was equally wet and cold, he moved as close to her as he could get, gently enfolding her in his arms. Jaime snuggled against him, her head resting on his chest, as the waves moved them even closer together and storm clouds began to gather in the cold night sky.

------


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

"What the _hell_ do you mean you can't find them?" Oscar ranted. "I don't care how dark it is! You know exactly where the explosion was, so get every man you've got out there and _find my operatives_!"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Goldman, truly sorry, but there's no boat left - just debris. Extremely small bits of debris. They very likely didn't survive the explosion. We'll begin recovery efforts first thing in the -"

"Maybe you didn't understand me," Oscar seethed. "You are to continue **_rescue_** efforts until my people are located. If you call your men in now, you'll be in the brig until you forget what daylight looks like! Understand?" He slammed the radio receiver down onto the table without waiting for an answer, and moved to the far side of the room to check on Rudy's progress. "Anything?"

"Still no signal from Jaime's emergency chip. I don't like that - not at all. I'm trying Steve's now." The doctor frowned with concentration as he hunched over the data bank. "Temperature's dropping pretty fast out there, and Russ just told me there's a storm headed their way."

------

Jaime and Steve had been shivering in the cold for far too long, but they both knew that when they stopped shivering, it was really time to worry. That time had now come, and they began telling each other stories, sharing snippets of happy memories, to try and hang onto consciousness and to each other.

"I remember when you were about seven," Steve said softly, "and I tried to teach you how to hit a baseball."

"I hit it, alright," Jaime added. "Right through your parents' picture window. I was so scared."

"Yeah, but **_I _**got the spanking."

"Sorry 'bout that."

"No, you're not," Steve countered, laughing just a little.

"Ok, maybe I'm not, but if you won't buy the apology, how 'bout _thank you_?"

"You're welcome," he told her, kissing the top of her head. _My God, _he thought, _she's so cold!_ She began to feel limp in his arms. "Hey, ya need to stay with me, Sweetheart...Jaime?" Steve jostled her gently, then a bit more insistently.

"Mmmmmm," she moaned softly.

"Remember when you were in kindergarten and that bully lifted you up by your pigtails?...Jaime?"

"Yeah..."

"He was three or four years older and twice as big as you, but you still raised 92 kinds of hell all over that kid. You need to fight like that now, kick the wet and the cold right in the shins and kneecaps."

"Can't..."

Steve hugged her, trying to warm her even as he himself was fading from the cold. "You _have_ to -"

"We're...not gonna make it, are we?" She was almost too chilled to be frightened anymore.

"Of course we are."

"Too cold."

"Jaime..."

"At least we're together. We got to...find each other again, before -"

They both heard the first clap of thunder, and both knew it could very likely be their death knell, because with thunder...came lightning.

------

"Coast Guard is reporting heavy storm activity across all search coordinates - thunder, lightning, the works," Russ reported.

Oscar blanched, knowing what this meant. "Bionics turn their bodies into lightning rods," he said grimly. "We're out of time. Make sure all of our teams and the Coast Guard remain on active search detail." Russ nodded. Oscar walked to the window, to the door and back again, feeling entirely helpless.

"Oscar! I've got a signal!" Rudy shouted, rousing the entire room from its funereal silence. Oscar had joined him in less than an instant. "It's fading in and out, probably due to the storm, but Steve's chip has a signal!" He scribbled some numbers on a piece of paper and handed it to Oscar, who passed it to Russ.

"Give those coordinates to the Coast Guard," Oscar told his assistant, then he turned back toward Rudy. "I'll bet you've got the same thought I do."

The doctor nodded. "This is our family we're talking about here."

"Russ," Oscar said, on his way toward the door, "you're officially in charge here. Rudy, let's go get our kids!"

------


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

With Government plates on the car and the temporary light on top of the car flashing, Oscar and Rudy made record time getting down to the marina. They'd intended to take Rudy's fishing boat, fairly solid and sturdy, but Captain Adamson was waiting for them on the pier, and he had a better plan.

"Mr. Goldman, your assistant contacted me to let me know you were headed out on the water, and I've got the fastest ship in the Guard. Give you a lift?"

Minutes later, they were speeding out onto the ocean, passing other vessels that were also heading for the specified coordinates. After making sure his Lieutenant was securely on course, Adamson joined Rudy and Oscar on the bow of the main deck. "Why don't you wait down below? Probably safer, in this weather, and definitely a lot warmer."

"Thanks," Rudy answered, "but we're ok for now."

"Do you think we'll get to them before the storm does?" Oscar asked quietly.

"Well, we're moving faster than the storm front, but it's had a good head start. It'll be a pretty close race."

------

Steve was keeping tabs on the approach of the storm by counting the seconds between when he felt Jaime flinch (each time she saw lightning) and when he heard the ensuing thunder. It was moving slowly, but it _was_ heading toward them. He had a plan to keep Jaime safe, but he was waiting until it was directly upon them first, so she wouldn't have time to try and stop him.

In the meantime, they floated along in each other's arms, each trying to buoy the other, to keep them from giving up hope. Steve's one regret was that they'd never had the chance to become husband and wife, but he didn't say that out loud, not wanting to cause her any pain. It almost seemed, though, as if she was reading his thoughts.

"You know," she said in a dream-like voice, "it's sorta fitting that we're facing this together. Our lives have been entwined for...forever, I think. We're probably more married than most couples with the rings on their fingers."

"You're right," Steve agreed. Jaime flinched again, and the thunder echoed just moments later. It was almost time, and he wanted to try and prepare her, as much as possible, for what lay ahead. "Jaime, I want you to promise me something."

"Ok..."

"They're looking for us by now; they have to be. It's only a matter of time. They _will _find us. When the lightning gets here, no matter what happens, I want you to hang on. **_Don't give up_**, no matter what. Keep hoping, and keep fighting. Ok?"

"Steve..."

"**_Promise_** - please?"

"I promise," she said through new tears. She sensed what he was thinking and knew that, with only her left arm, she'd be unable to stop him. "You've gotta promise me something, too. When we get through this - and we will - we need to make this entwinement of ours official."

"You've got a deal, Sweetheart," he answered, feeling her flinch again. Steve kissed her one more time, and then made his move.

------

On the bow of the boat, Oscar and Rudy were watching the lightning. Rudy noticed one particular strike, very close, that appeared to change direction in midair as though pulled by an even stronger force than itself. "Over there!" he told Adamson urgently. "That has to be them!" With the throttle already fully open, the boat headed at full speed to the spot the lightning had just struck.

Rudy had been right. The boat circled and stopped next to the section of wood, and they saw a small puff of smoke next to the spot where Steve's body was stretched out across Jaime's, to protect her from the lightning. He didn't appear to be moving, but Jaime was. Her left hand was pounding upward, into Steve's chest, with all the strength she had left, and she sobbed broken heartedly at the thought of what he'd just done.

The boat's crew moved with rapid efficiency, pulling them both aboard, but it was Jaime who had just worked a miracle. The insistent pounding of her fist had re-started Steve's heart, and as they laid him out on the deck next to the woman he'd been willing to die for, Steve opened his eyes.

------


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Rudy had admitted both of his patients into the same hospital room, knowing it was the only way to keep them both safely in their beds. After everything they'd just endured, he knew better than to try and separate them. The beds were placed just inches apart, so Steve and Jaime could hold each others' hand.

Jaime had passed out from severe hypothermia and shock as she'd been pulled aboard the boat, so it wasn't until two days later that she discovered, upon awakening, that the lightning strike and her attempts at resuscitation had somehow restored Steve's vision. She woke up to see him gazing at her with love - and _sight_ - in his eyes, and silent tears began pearling on her cheeks.

"You can see me?" she asked weakly.

"Sure can. You're not crying because we both survived and now we'll get to deal with that second promise...are you?"

Jaime smiled. "I wasn't beating you in the chest to make you go away, ya know. No way was I gonna let you welch out of _that_ promise."

So, with a shared smile and a squeeze of each others' hand, they both knew it was settled. Soon they'd be 'official' in the eyes of the world, the way they'd always been, in their hearts.

------

Jaime's paralysis was not cured as easily as Steve's afflictions had been. Her back had been dealt a violent blow when the explosion threw her into the ocean, damaging the connections between her biological nervous system and her bionic limbs. A combination of mild electrical shocks, heat, massage and physical therapy - as well as Jaime's fierce determination - slowly returned function and movement to the damaged limbs. Steve remained glued to her side throughout her recovery, refusing to leave the hospital even after his own injuries had healed. They'd worked together and each had saved the others' life, so they intended to leave the hospital the same way: together.

------

Oscar had discovered that the men who'd fired on the boat had believed him to be on board, and his guilt was overwhelming, but his honor demanded he tell his friends, as soon as they were up to it. Steve and Jaime refused to accept his profuse apology because they felt it was totally unwarranted - he hadn't thrown them into the ocean - and they both told him so.

He could see they'd become even more tightly bonded through their traumatic experience, and he strongly felt the need to make it up to them, and to honor their love and commitment. "You never did get those two weeks off," he ventured as he sat with them on the sun porch at the hospital.

"We'll still hold you to it," Jaime said lightly, "as soon as I'm outta here."

"Well, I'd like to double that - take a month. You both deserve the downtime and some good old relaxation."

Jaime shook her head. "It's a really nice gesture, but you promised us two weeks, and that's really more than -"

Steve had to butt in. "Sweetheart, let the nice man gesture, and tell him 'thank you'."

"Thank you," Jaime parroted, grinning. "But only on one condition."

"Oh?"

"If you're planning to send us somewhere private, isolated or romantic, how 'bout the mountains, or the desert? We're not picky...anyplace with _no water!_

END


End file.
